News in brief

12:01AM BST 07 Oct 2004

British Grand Prix could be back on the race map

Reports of the demise of the British Grand Prix may have been premature. An announcement is expected tomorrow that the Silverstone event, which was last week excluded from the calendar for next year, will be reinstated.

The Grand Prix was cut from the schedule for 2005 when the owner of the Silverstone circuit, the British Racing Drivers' Club, was unable to meet the financial demands of the Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone.

The Government has refused direct funding to make up the shortfall, but intense negotiation over the past week appears to have produced a solution.

It is believed that an incentives package for the circuit, arranged through the East Midlands Development Agency, could result in an agreement.

The sports minister, Richard Caborn, while unwilling to commit direct Government funding, was also reluctant to lose a prestigious annual fixture and a symbol of the successful British motorsport industry.

Woman charged with ward death

A health worker was yesterday charged with killing an elderly man who died three days after being admitted to the hospital where she worked.

The 26-year-old woman was arrested in January this year following the death of Kenneth Heaton, a 79-year-old widower, at Hull Royal Infirmary.

The woman has been bailed to appear before Hull magistrates today charged with manslaughter and administering a noxious substance.

Humberside Police were called in by the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals' Trust to investigate allegations of malpractice against a member of staff.

Footballer fined and banned

Fabrice Fernandes, the Southampton footballer, was yesterday fined £10,000 and banned from driving for two years after speeding through several sets of red traffic lights while nearly twice over the drink-drive limit.

The judge, George Bathurst-Norman, also imposed an 18-month rehabilitation order, combined with 100 hours of community service.

Sub officer dies after blaze

A Canadian naval officer died yesterday while being airlifted from the submarine Chicoutimi after it was disabled by a fire.

The death of Lt Chris Saunders was announced in Ottawa by Canadian premier Paul Martin after Royal Navy ships had reached the crippled submarine which was drifting in heavy seas 120 miles off the Irish coast.

The Chicoutimi suffered two fires on board a day after leaving Scotland following its sale to Canada by the Ministry of Defence.

It is thought that Lt Saunders was injured while trying to make repairs after the first incident.